The $50K Poker Players Championship: Poker’s Purest Test

Last Updated on October 7, 2026 by Bala Kumar

The $50,000 Poker Players Championship (PPC) is the World Series of Poker event that many professionals rank above the Main Event. A $10,000 Main Event can be won by anyone who runs hot for a week. The PPC asks you to beat the best players alive in nine different games, at a $50,000 buy-in, with no second chances.

The latest champion is Benny Glaser. On 26 June 2026 he beat a 108-entry field for $1,343,764, his ninth WSOP bracelet and the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. A year earlier, Michael Mizrachi won the event for a record fourth time.

This guide covers how the PPC works, the 2026 and 2025 results, every champion since 2006, and the records that make it poker’s purest test.

Poker Players Championship at a glance

Why it is called poker’s purest test

Most big tournaments are No-Limit Hold’em only. A strong Hold’em specialist can win them without knowing how to play a single hand of Stud or Triple Draw. The PPC removes that shortcut.

The game changes every level, so a player has to be strong across the board:

•           Big-bet games like No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha reward aggression and hand reading.

•           Limit games like Limit Hold’em and Stud reward discipline and small, repeated edges.

•           Lowball games like Razz and 2-7 Triple Draw turn hand values upside down.

•           Split-pot games like Omaha Hi-Lo and Stud Hi-Lo test whether you can tell when half a pot is the real prize.

A weakness in any one game is exposed for 100 minutes at a time, against opponents who have played these games at high stakes for years. On top of that comes the price. A $50,000 buy-in with no re-entry means one bad decision can end a tournament that cost a small salary to enter.

That combination is why the field is so small and so strong. It is also why the winner is often a mixed-game specialist rather than a Hold’em star.

The nine games

The lineup has changed over the years. The event began in 2006 as H.O.R.S.E. (Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud and Stud Hi-Lo). It became an eight-game mix in 2010 and briefly tried ten games in 2015 before returning to eight. No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw was added in 2021, which created today’s nine-game format.

2026 tournament structure

The 2026 edition was Event #60 on the WSOP schedule and ran from 21 to 26 June in Las Vegas.

What the structure means. Hundred-minute levels give players time to use their edges across every game in the rotation. Late registration into Day 2 lets busy pros finish other events first, but a late entrant joins with a smaller stack relative to the blinds.

2026 results: Benny Glaser wins his ninth bracelet

England’s Benny Glaser came into the final day as chip leader with 8,610,000 chips and finished the job against Josh Arieh heads-up. He won the final hand holding ace-queen-seven-four.

Why it matters. The win gave Glaser nine WSOP bracelets, level with Johnny Moss. Only Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel and Johnny Chan have more. Glaser, born in Southampton in 1989, built his record almost entirely in mixed games:

•           Three bracelets at the 2025 WSOP alone, the first player to win three mixed-game bracelets in one series.

•           Earlier titles in Razz, Omaha Hi-Lo and 2-7 Triple Draw championships.

•           A runner-up finish in the 2026 Limit Hold’em Championship, only days before this win.

If any modern player fits the profile of a PPC champion, it is Glaser.

Poker Players Championship 2025 results

Michael Mizrachi won the 2025 PPC for his fourth title, breaking the tie with Brian Rast for most wins in the event. The field drew 107 entries for a $5,082,500 prize pool, with 17 places paid.

Mizrachi knocked out five of the six other finalists on the final day. Esther Taylor’s third place was the best finish by a woman in the event’s history. Mizrachi then went on to win the 2025 Main Event later that summer, a rare double of the two most prestigious titles in poker.

2024 results: Daniel Negreanu’s breakthrough

The 2024 edition (Event #58) drew 89 entries and a $4,249,750 prize pool, with 14 places paid. Daniel Negreanu won it for his first WSOP bracelet since 2013. He had long named the PPC as the event he most wanted to win.

Every Poker Players Championship winner

What the numbers say. The field peaked at 148 entries in 2007 and 2008, then shrank through the 2010s. It hit its low of 63 in 2021, when the WSOP moved to the autumn and travel was still limited after the pandemic. Since then the PPC has recovered to over 100 entries in three of the last five years. First prizes have stayed between roughly $1.1 million and $1.45 million for most of the past decade.

Records and milestones

•           Most titles: Michael Mizrachi, 4 (2010, 2012, 2018, 2025). His four first prizes add up to $5,581,021.

•           Three titles: Brian Rast (2011, 2016, 2023).

•           Back-to-back champion: Dan Cates, the only player to defend the title (2021 and 2022).

•           Largest field: 148 entries, in 2007 and 2008.

•           Smallest field: 63 entries, in 2021.

•           Biggest first prize: $2,276,832, won by Freddy Deeb in 2007.

•           Best finish by a woman: Esther Taylor, third in 2025.

•           English champions: Matthew Ashton (2013) and Benny Glaser (2026).

The Chip Reese Memorial Trophy

Chip Reese won the first $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. title in 2006. He was regarded by many of his peers as the best all-round cash game player of his era. After his death in December 2007, the WSOP created the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, which has gone to every PPC champion since 2008. Scotty Nguyen was the first to receive it.

The trophy is a big part of why players care so much about this event. A bracelet marks a win. The Reese trophy marks you as the best all-round player of that summer.

What it takes to win the PPC

Looking across twenty editions, champions tend to share three traits.

1.         No weak game. Glaser, Rast, Mizrachi and Cates are all known as complete players. In a nine-game rotation, opponents find and target any gap in your skills.

2.         Endurance. The event runs five days of 100-minute levels, often finishing late at night. Stamina and focus late in the day matter as much as technique.

3.         Bankroll and composure. With no re-entry, players must accept big swings without tilting. Many pros sell part of their action to manage the risk.

For recreational players, the PPC is the event to watch rather than play. But studying how its champions approach each game is one of the best ways to improve at mixed games.

FAQs

Bala Kumar

Founder of PokerClubGames.com and a Poker Researcher with 10+ years of experience in SEO, WordPress development, and gaming content strategy. Specializes in researching online poker sites, poker apps, tournaments, bonuses, and poker strategies. Experienced in poker platform reviews, affiliate marketing, and creating SEO-focused poker content for global audiences.

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